It’s been a while since we went to Fushimi, my first visit being not in Times Square but Brooklyn. So, when they invited us for their first year anniversary, I was quite excited. Located few steps from Port Authority, this place is gorgeous: as you enter, you are right away amazed by their rendition of the Fushimi Inari Taisha, a Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto that is famous for its thousands of red torii gates that create a trail we visited few years back during a memorable trip to Japan. The rest of the restaurant is stunning with a sophisticated urban vibe, blending Japanese minimalism with sleek, contemporary aesthetics, starting with the bar area with its paper cranes or orizuru, that is a powerful symbol in Japan. According to legend, folding 1,000 paper cranes grants you a wish or brings you good luck and long life. This tradition has become a symbol of peace, especially after the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who developed leukemia due to the Hiroshima bombing and sought to fold 1,000 cranes to heal. She didn’t finish before she passed away, but her story inspired many to continue folding cranes as a wish for peace and health.